


Mando's Night Out

by kroganwarrior22



Series: The Mando and the Farmboy [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Constipation, Family Drama, First Dates, M/M, No Promises No Lies, One Shot, Romantic Fluff, Single Parents, Unresolved Sexual Tension, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:01:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29057118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kroganwarrior22/pseuds/kroganwarrior22
Summary: Din travels to Coruscant for the first time with Grogu only to meet Luke Skywalker again. The Jedi wants to take his son on a little field trip, naturally Din wants to check it out first. Sequel to The Mando and the Farmboy, which is probably required reading. Everything belongs to Disney and LucasFilm.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda & Luke Skywalker, Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Series: The Mando and the Farmboy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131761
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57





	Mando's Night Out

Din had been to planets all across the galaxy for his work; Nevarro, Mon Cala, Tatooine, Chandrilla, Sullust, and even Utapau, none of them had the splendor of Coruscant. City districts spanned as far as the eye could see making him feel as though he was never alone. How could anyone sleep here at night when there was the constant possibility a rogue shuttle crash could crush you in your living space at any time? Perhaps he was only paranoid because of Bo's threat of coming after him when he least expected it for the darksaber. The thing gave him the sensation that dead wait and inevitablity was with him at all times. Either Bo killed him for the saber separating him from Grogu which he refused to accept or, he killed her to become the Mandalore a job he desperately did not want. Thankfully he doubted he was going to have to make that decision for awhile.

After Cara insisted he had to come with her to the medal ceremony for capturing Moff Gideon, Luke offered Din his sisters apartment as a place to stay for the proceedings. What the frustratingly handsome farmboy had neglected to mention was the fact that his sister was Leia Organa Solo, second Chancellor of the New Republic. As a result, Din and Grogu got to stay in the Chancellor's suite inside the Senate building, a place he figured not even Bo-Katan would try to infiltrate no matter how desperate she was. And while Luke's offer hadn't come with a catch, it did come with a suggestion. Since Grogu was on Coruscant, Luke wanted to take him to the remains of the Jedi Temple in order to work with him some. Although Din knew Luke had no intention of harming Grogu, he was hesitant to agree thinking it was a bad idea. The events in that Temple some thirty years ago traumatized his ad'ika to the point that he refused to speak out loud for all that time. Luke argued going back and seeing the remains of the building might help him get some closure on the matter leaving Din torn. He was currently standing on the suites balcony staring at the Temple like it was the location of a risky job.

"Daddy?" A soft voice whispered from behind him.

It was Grogu standing in his new X-Wing illustrated onesie, "What are you doing awake? It's late for you." Din whispered back trying not to wake the rest of the household up.

Those brown eyes were looking up at his helmet so innocently, "Sense fear in you could I, want to make you feel better did I."

Din sighed not knowing how to argue with someone who could read his thoughts, "I...that isn't something you should worry about ad'ika, I'm here to worry about you not the other way around. Now let's get you back to bed."

As he scooped him up Grogu touched the side of his helmet, "Worried I am not."

It was such a declarative statement that Din had to ask, "Yeah? Your not scared of the Temple at all?"

"No, protect me from bad guys you will." Grogu smiled still thinking the world of him even after Tython.

The weight of that responsibility made him want to get a drink as he carefully put him in the cradle the Solo's graciously bought, "Well, we better get some sleep then. Tomorrow is a big day."

"Ok, love you daddy I do." Grogu said happily closing his eyes.

"I love you so much ad'ika." Din gently told him watching him to make sure he was asleep.

After five extra minutes of standing over him to stay present, Din dragged himself out of the room feeling as though a thousand pounds of durasteel was strapped to his feet. Ever since they met he had made it his responsibility to protect Grogu but, he never thought the child had enough comprehension skills to also understand that. What if he messed up again? What if he couldn't protect him when it matters most and he wouldn't get a second chance to keep him safe next time? What if he failed him the same way he failed the children he saw at Tosche Station? Coruscant might have tens of billions of residents all around him yet, right now Din felt very alone. That was until Leia emerged from the neighboring room with a children's book in hand. He hadn't heard either of her children making a fuss, however, her tired expression told him they were on a very similar starship in that regard.

Leia gave him a knowing smile almost as if she two could read his mind, "Want some caff? I have a feeling neither of us are going back to sleep tonight."

Din had a professional tone though he felt awkward talking to the New Republic Chancellor in full beskar, "I wouldn't want to impose on your evening ma'am."

She waved a hand in a dismissive fashion, "Din, you're looking at my evening. We both can worry about people we care about together."

He reluctantly followed her to the large kitchen, "Your husband?" He asked assuming that's who she was talking about.

Leia nodded sagely activating the caff device, "As General for the New Republic, Han has taken it as his responsibility to investigate Moff Gideon's cruiser. We need to know if he has any more cells out there."

Despite knowing that was the case from their interactions on the cruiser, it felt wrong to rub her face in it, "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a legend to your people no?"

A huff escaped her lips and she folded her arms, "Like I told him last time we talked, being a hero doesn't make you a invincible. Enough about me, can I ask why your worried about tomorrow?"

He spoke quickly not wanting to offend her, "It's not your brother, I know he wouldn't physically hurt Grogu. I just worry mentally he might not be ready to see that place again. He lost everyone he ever knew in that building, and wouldn't talk for years because of it. I have a bad feeling about it is all."

Leia regarded him for a long moment handing him a cup of caff, "You know, after Alderaan was destroyed I thought I would never want to go back either, turns out I had to a few months later. We were on the run and the fleet needed a place to hide. The debris Alderaan created was large enough for our ships so off we went... It was hard knowing my family died there but, I felt some relief too. To know we were keeping what my father fought and died for alive."

Din couldn't bite his tongue, "With all due respect, you were nineteen and didn't have a choice. Grogu's 52....but that isn't the point. He's a toddler, he doesn't have the emotional maturity you had."

"Have you asked him what he wants to do?" Leia asked seemingly genuinely curious while sipping on her own drink.

Din toyed with the cup in his hands for something to do with them, "He said he's not worried because he knows I'll keep him safe.."

"Then keep him safe, I don't see there being any reason to worry." She gave a nonchalant shrug as though that was the end of the conversation.

Din lifted his helmet ever so slightly to take a drink of the caff, "I don't think I'll be allowed to go with them, a Mandalorian stepping foot on Temple grounds feels wrong."

Luke's now familiar voice came from the entrance to the apartment, "And where did you get that idea?"

He was amazed no matter what time of day it was Luke looked so...handsome. That sharp jaw, rounded chin, ocean blue eyes, and sweet smile were just nice to look at. It also helped that the man underneath was a calming presence whenever he was around while still retaining some of that farmboy innocence. If that wasn't enough, Luke cared about his ad'ikas well being, something all Mandalorians found appealing in a mate. A mate? Spirits Din, Luke was just a friend don't make something more out of it. Again he chided himself not to even assume he could be a friend, he might just be acting like one of the nicest males in the galaxy just to get closer to Grogu. Din blushed under the helmet realizing Luke had asked him a question and he had spent the last few seconds staring at him like he was a teenager again meeting his crush. At least his helmet was on so neither sibling could see he was speechless every time Luke came in a room with him.

While he was looking for the right words Leia smirked glancing between the two of them, "Always with the dramatic entrance. What brings you across the hall so late?"

Luke spoke before he could recover his composure, "I could feel you were both troubled so I thought I would see what was wrong."

Din sipped more of the coffee as an excuse for his silence, "Ahem...I thought that a place like the Jedi Temple wouldn't like someone who isn't a Jedi wandering around the hollowed ground or whatever."

Luke outstretched a hand towards him not directly answering the question, "Can you give me the darksaber for a moment? I want to show you something."

Knowing the cultural significance of the weapon, Din hesitated for a moment, "I don't know if that's a good idea Luke. This thing already caused one diplomatic incident changing hands."

"I'll give it right back to you, I just want to show you something inside it." Luke stated with a soft smile silently asking to trust him.

Din reluctantly did so hoping he hadn't just planted a target on his crushes back. He was surprised when Luke took his own blade off of his belt and placed both weapons side by side on the kitchen table. A second later Luke closed his eyes and each blades housing mechanism started separating of their own free will. Despite both of them having different equipment due to the darksaber's age, Din noticed both shared similar construction philosophies. And at the center of both of them stood a transparent glass container housing crystals. Luke's was a bright green perfectly circular sphere while the darksaber's was black and angular with several cracks. Even though there were superficial differences, Din understood Luke was implying both weapons had the same basic blueprints for their construction. How was it possible the weapon of the Mandalor, something so sacred to his people, was a weapon used by their ancient enemy? Was Luke trying to say that the original owner was a Jedi? A Mandalorian Jedi was a thing that existed at some point?

Din didn't want to jump to conclusions and just asked, "How did you know these were going to be the same?"

Luke smiled snapping them back together and gave the darksaber back to him, "A friend told me, said he thinks you should keep it and that you're worthy of carrying on his legacy. If you want to come with me and Grogu to the Temple tomorrow you're always welcome in my academy."

Din had a feeling there was a specific reason Luke came to see him but wouldn't push it, "How long has it been since anyone was in the Temple period? Are we sure there aren't Imperial holdouts just waiting to spring a trap inside?"

Leia was the first to answer him, "Thirty years, the Emperor left it untouched as a reminder to his enemies of what he was capable of. As for any kind of resistance, we would've seen it by now. The New Republic has been in control of the planet for five years, we're always watching the area."

Luke frowned watching him carefully, "You're concerned about what we'll find in there aren't you?"

Din shrugged hoping he didn't sound too paranoid, "Based on my experience buildings like that aren't just abandoned forever, especially when dealing with the Empire. I might be just an overprotective father but, I have a bad feeling about that place."

Luke threw his cape back over his shoulders, "Then why don't we go right now and have a look around?"

Din glanced back to Grogu's bedroom door, "I just put him back to sleep, I don't want to wake him again until morning or he'll be fussy all day tomorrow."

Luke shook his head with a chuckle already grabbing his speeder keys, "I meant just the two of us to make sure it's safe. A dry run of where we're going."

Din didn't want to drag him out there in the middle of the night just because he had a bad feeling about it, "It's what two thirty right now? Go back to bed Luke, I worry too much."

Luke stood still considering him, "Will you be able to sleep if we don't go?" When Din honestly shook his head Luke continued, "Then we're going, Leia do you mind keeping an eye on Grogu while we're gone?"

She made sure to look at Din when she replied, "Of course not, don't take too long though the medal ceremony starts at nine am. You both are expected to be there and awake."

"Thank you, I know I've been an inconvenience to your family for the past few days." Din told her feeling bad they were doing all this merely for the fact that he was nervous.

She placed her hand on top of his, "You've been one of the best guests I've had so far as Chancellor. I'll make sure Grogu stays asleep while you're gone."

With that Din quietly followed Luke to the Senate buildings primary speeder parking area searching for Luke's personal ship. Wandering around the peaceful environment made him understand how the Senate could be so complacent, if it wasn't happening here why should they care at all? Why spend your time hunting down Imperial Warlords when you could be living the high life here? Of course that didn't take into account that if they let the Empire run rampant in the Outer Rim they would eventually come back to claim what they saw was rightfully theirs in the Core. Maybe if he was right about the Temple, Leia would see the necessity of her husband investigating Moff Gideon's allies instead of staying with her and the kids.

Luke approached one of the golden and green sleek speeders hopping into the pilots chair, "Cara told me you were a good pilot with pre Clone Wars tech so I thought maybe I should fly."

"You talk about me a lot?" Din wondered aloud climbing into the open air passengers seat.

Luke got to work on the ignition while speaking like it was second nature, "A little, though she doesn't know too much about you either so there's not that much to learn. You're a very private person aren't you Din?"

His hands tightly gripped the passenger seat having made the mistake of looking down, "I'm a bounty hunter, not much else to the story worth mentioning until I met Grogu."

"No other friends or family?" Luke asked obviously wanting to know more about him.

"Nope." Din lied as it was easier to do so than explain he was a part of a cult until a month ago.

Luke had no idea he was stepping on sensitive subject matter so just kept going, "That surprises me, I thought all Mandalorian creeds emphasized taking care of the young and vulnerable."

Din gulped watching another speeder dip a little too close to them in the lane above them, "How much further do we have to go?"

Luke laughed now assuming the tension around his family was a fear of heights talking, "You've never been this high up in an open air speeder before have you? If you would've said something we could've taken more public transportation."

"I'm not used to this many people in one place actually." Din clarified expecting to be shot at or crashed into at any moment.

Luke gave him a sympathetic smile patting him on the back, "You get used to it after a few trips back and forth. No one wants to murder a hundred people in a crash so everyone tends to watch what they're doing. We're almost there if it would make you feel any better."

He didn't reply at all grateful questions about his family died down. Although there were people there he used to consider family like Paz, he was ultimately ashamed to have been a part of extremist cult. On some level he knew it wasn't his decision to go with the Children of the Watch and thus he shouldn't be judged for it but, he didn't want Luke to think he was a monster for not seeing it sooner. Maybe he could lie and tell him he had a happy childhood with his parents wherever he was from originally yet that didn't seem fair considering his actual parents sacrificed themselves so that he would survive. Sticking to his semi cold private person attitude when it came to his past was probably the best thing he could do, even if it limited the kind of relationship they could have together. All he could hope for was that Grogu didn't grow up having Luke's level of curiosity.

The trip dragged on as though they were speeding along Coruscant's highway system for days despite having only been ten minutes. Out of all the dangers he faced for Grogu, he was somewhat amused that the most painful was just getting across a Coruscant district without his heart bursting out of his chest from anxiety. Din stared up at the Temple in a combination of foreboding and fascination. A spire on each corner of the building still stood tall yet, the largest spire at the center of the Temple was leaning on it's side defying physics by still hanging in the air at all. The stairs going up to the front door of the Temple were cracked in several places and statues of hooded Jedi were obstructing at least half of the pathways to the door. More than anything right now he was worried the structure itself wasn't safe enough for Grogu to explore.

Luke got out of the shuttle and offered him his hand, "Make sure to watch your step. I don't know if the Emperor ever thought of leaving traps behind here."

"Honestly? I think the way this place is standing has got that covered already." Din mused in a soft monotone voice hoping to make him laugh.

Luke grinned making his way up the stairs with the confident stride Din was used to, "Can I ask you something?"

He had a hand on his holster just in case anything Imperial jumped out at them as they walked by the first set of exterior pillars, "Won't promise you'll get the answer you want but your free to go ahead and ask farmboy."

Luke made it to the top of the stairs placing a hand on the door, "I suppose that's fair. I'm just wondering how often have you had the feeling you were describing earlier? What might be dangerous where you should go things like that."

It was Din's turn to laugh, "You don't think it's possible anyone would be a little worried about going into a collapsing building Luke? It's called intuition and every bounty hunter needs it if they're going to be successful."

"Hmm." Was all Luke managed to say as he closed his eyes in front of the door.

Din was looking around with thermal vision searching for a way into the Temple, "Told you that you wouldn't like the answer you got. Maybe we should try another door on the side?"

"No I'm not c-" Luke was cut off when the large doors in front of him groaned opening slowly.

Ahsoka and Luke had both briefly mentioned the carnage that had taken place inside the Temple so he was expecting a bloodbath inside. However, when the door opened all Din was greeted by was a long empty hallway and a cold breeze rushing out. The scariest part for Din was how quiet it was compared to anywhere else on Coruscant. Not even the smallest Tatooine settlement was this desolate or silent. Despite the fact it should make him feel at ease there was no one here, such a violent contrast in environments unsettled him. The more and more he thought about it, the higher the likelihood was this had to be a trap. Why wouldn't the Emperor leave any around for foolish Jedi like Luke to get stuck in? He had to assume the Emperor was just as spiteful and ruthless as Gideon and that was exactly what he would do.

Thankfully Luke seemed to have some sense finally activating his green lightsaber, "Keep your guard up, that door opened far to easily for having been supposedly sealed for thirty years."

Din drew his blaster and flipped on his own flashlight, "This is one of the times I hate being right. Shouldn't we call for backup? Have New Republic operatives sweep the area."

"Then we wouldn't have your spotless intuition's guidance. We don't want to let them slip away, follow me." Luke said in a half joking half inspirational sort of way.

They continued deeper into the atrium and Din was struck by two things. First off, the Temple was a massive structure that could've probably housed ten thousand easily. There were so many twists and turns that he could've gotten lost for days if Luke wasn't right in front of him leading the way. He doubted even someone with as much confidence as Luke did could truly believe he would be able to bring this place back to it's former glory in his lifetime. Osik, probably by the time Grogu passed the Jedi wouldn't fully be whole again. Secondly, it was impossible for him not to be able to tell the chaotic bloodshed occurred inside these walls just looking around. Blaster scorch marks were so frequent he assumed an entire battallion must've been deployed to wipe the Jedi out. He also saw fragments of the interior pillars weren't where they were supposed to be suggesting someone strong in the force threw them around as weapons.

A part of him wanted to comment this probably wasn't a good place for someone Grogu's age to be regardless of intruders yet hesitated after seeing Luke's saddened face. He remembered Luke mentioned his father was the one to lead this attack, however, the farmboy just now appeared to realize what that really must've meant. To be fair, Din had a similar bad experience when Bo burst his entire belief system when she removed her helmet so freely. Din didn't enjoy seeing Luke so beaten down and thought about hugging him to let him know he was there for him. Unfortunately they didn't really know each other long enough for that and in Din's case, it was better he processed the revelation by himself. Besides they couldn't have a heart to heart right now when they both appeared to agree someone else was in the Temple who could try attacking them at any moment.

Luke rounded a corner and they entered a room with a single 24' tall still water fountain, "The room of a thousand fountains, I'm told Jedi came here to meditate. I wonder if I'll be able to get it working again someday."

"A thousand fountains huh? Looks like there's only one to me." Din joked trying to lighten the mood despite the circumstances.

Luke chuckled gazing around the room to make sure it was truly a dead end, "I wasn't the one who made it, I assume when it was active hundreds of smaller fountains sprang up around it to catch all the splashing water."

Din's stomach flipped inside out when he flipped back to thermal vision, "I've got footprints farmboy, one set, humsnoid, still warm leading back out of this room down that way."

Luke tilted his head casting his gaze back the way they had come, "Meaning?"

Din was already starting to follow the footsteps with his blaster drawn, "Meaning someone else was in here probably heard us then ran to go hide."

Luke's face darkened with concern, "Are you sure your device is working properly? I don't sense anyone else in the Temple."

"I trust this thing with my life everytime I go on a hunt, it's working." Din declared frustrated that Luke wasn't taking this as seriously as it was.

Luke put a hand on his shoulder gently, "Then you need to let me take the lead Din. I can't feel this person in the force which indicates they can also use the force. We don't know what we're dealing with here."

Din reluctantly took a step back so they were standing shoulder to shoulder, "How about together instead?"

When no response came he could assume the answer was a yes and so he continued back towards the main atrium where the footprints led. On the one hand, Din was pleased to actually be right proving he wasn't a paranoid dad. On the flip side the question had to be asked what was someone doing in here now after the Temple had been left alone for so long? Instinct told him whoever the identity of this person was, they were here preparing an ambush for tomorrow. The problem with that theory had to be no one could possibly know when and where Luke planned to take Grogu. So that only left the Solo's and Luke which were both laughable suspects to begin with. That just left him with the possibility it was total coincidence scavengers chose tonight of all nights to try and score big. He had to start running faster as the footsteps were growing colder the longer time went by.

Luke called out in the middle of the atrium creating an echo, "We know you're in here! You don't have to hide, we just went to talk and know what you want."

Din stopped wishing the full extent of his glare could've been communicated through the helmet, "I appreciate you want to give everyone a chance farmboy but we could potentially be dealing with an Imperial assassin. It isn't a good idea to scream our location to the whole building."

"I'll tell you what I want. **YOUR HEAD!** " Din felt Luke push him away as a red lightsaber sweeped just above his neck coming down from one of the upper floors.

As he finally finished multiple rolls across the floor, he could look up to see who he was dealing with. The first thing he recognized was the almost identical chest plate of Moff Gideon minus the large cape attached. This mysterious humanoid made up for it by wearing a black helmet and used a voice modulator to hide their identity. Din could guess they were female though since they were slightly shorter and thinner than Luke. He thought about pulling the darksaber out and joining the battle but, the green and red blades were already moving faster than the naked eye. Even beskar wouldn't protect him if either one of those blades landed in the wrong spot.

Luke trapped their blade in a lock attempting to slow the fight down, "You don't have to keep fighting inquisitor, the Emperor and Va-"

"I know exactly what you did to them! And I will have my revenge." The mysterious assassin shouted obviously not interested in a discussion.

Knowing Luke wouldn't know when to stop talking and actually start fighting for real Din took matters into his own hands. While the two of them appeared to be distracted in a heated lightsaber exchange, he aimed his grappling hook for her knees. With a satisfying snap the thin rope wrapped around her legs tugging her to the ground helmet first. The being was surprisingly light to pull towards him affirming his admittedly biased theory this was a female. Having faced Ahsoka before he knew how fast Jedi could be and so drew his blaster so he could start shooting. Just prior to pulling the trigger Din felt his feet leave the floor and his wind pipe squeeze shut uncomfortably.

"You won't stop me from completing my mission! Not again!" They shouted while blocking urgent blows from Luke above their head.

His vision was starting to fade with every struggled gasp that wasn't giving him any oxygen. From what he was able to tell Luke was desperately trying to save him yet his opponent was ever so slightly a better duelist. He needed help yet if Din didn't come up with something fast, neither of them were going to get out of here in one piece. The only thing he could think of was he had one last salvo of whispering birds ready to be fired in a random direction. In a building like this firing explosives was normally a bad idea it was just his rapidly oxygen starved brain wasn't going to come up with anything else. Once they left the firing chamber, the assassin immediately assumed they were being fired at her and so used the force to redirect them all unintentionally at one of the last pillars in the atrium still functioning. The fighting stopped in an instant as the ceiling above them vibrated from the impact.

Din got to take one gulp of fresh air in before Luke was tackling him through the window out of the building. In horror, Din got to watch the Temple's roof collapse after thirty years of being on the brink. How many years of history did he literally just destroy in an act of desperation? While he could dwell on the cultural impact of his maneuver all day, they had a bigger problem, they were free falling off the side of the Jedi Temple into the busy streets of Coruscant's night life. His jetpack wouldn't activate because of Luke's added weight yet he wasn't about to shove him away to almost certain death. Luke was the one to push the two of them out here so surely he had a plan to keep them alive right? His back definitely didn't like the answer as his beskar punched a hole through the roof of a large passenger shuttle. Thankfully the two of them landed in the back seat with Luke in his lap.

"Oww..." Din muttered unintentionally cupping the side of Luke's face.

He was very aware of Luke's hand placement delicately on his side, "Are you ok?"

"Just a little sore...how about now time I chose the field trip?" Din groaned trying to make a joke out of nearly dying, "...I wonder if we're going to be on time...for the ceremony?"


End file.
